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Sporterizing Tutorial


robdog

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Is there a tutorial out there for sporterizing a x98 Mauser?

 

Also, I have several choices to do my first build. Which is the easiest and makes the best rifle?

 

I have these at home ready to go:

 

German k98k

Yugo M48

Yugo M24/47

 

Should I stick with the 8mm barrel and retaper or buy a new one? Which caliber(s) will let me keep the existing bolt?

 

Who does bolt handle work on this site?

 

I started to disassemble the k98k but am unsure of how to get the front and rear sight bases off, heat?

 

Thanks for the help

 

RD

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Is there a tutorial out there for sporterizing a x98 Mauser?

 

Also, I have several choices to do my first build. Which is the easiest and makes the best rifle?

 

I have these at home ready to go:

 

German k98k

Yugo M48

Yugo M24/47

 

Should I stick with the 8mm barrel and retaper or buy a new one? Which caliber(s) will let me keep the existing bolt?

 

Who does bolt handle work on this site?

 

I started to disassemble the k98k but am unsure of how to get the front and rear sight bases off, heat?

 

Thanks for the help

 

RD

 

For any nebs like me. I did a search under the auther name Clemson, tons of stuff. Thanks!

 

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There is a lot of info available on this and many other forums, but I'll thow in my 2 cents worth here.

Any of the actions you mentioned will work fine, but the easiest will be the k98k. The other 2 have a slightly shorter receiver so it will limit your cartridge and stock choices. They also use a safety breach system on the barrels which makes for a bit more work.

Any cartridge that uses a 308/3006 sized bolt head will work. You can build anything from a 22-250 through 35 Whelen or so without bolt face modifications. If you are looking for an inexpensive shooter, Adams and Bennett makes an inexpensive barrel that will work fine, E.R. Shaw is a little more expensive but offers a few more options. Price goes on up from there. The barrels you get will usually screw on without having to do much unless you want to true the action, but the barrels are short chambered so you will need to finish ream the chamber. You can stick with the issue barrel but they don't have as clean lines as a sporter barrel. The sights are soldered on and also have a small set screw that hold it in place. Remove the screws and heat it gently with a propane torch and whack it with a mallot and they will usually come off after you cuss at them a few times. If you are planning on doing a few guns, go buy the proper action wrench and barrel vise. If you are only planning on doing one, it my be cheaper to have a gunsmith do the work.

It is easier to drill and tap for scope mounts with the barrel off. This can be done yourself but many are botched, so know what you are doing before you drill any holes in the wrong spots.

This is an addicting hobby. It is really cool to be able to say "I built this rifle myself".

Steve Wagner has several good articles on sporterizing. Several members are very talented at forging or welding bolt handles.

Good luck and keep us posted as to your progress.

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I'll just add a brief amount to what O.D. had to say.

 

First, before you try to remove either the front or rear site base by hitting it with a mallet, make

damn sure that you got the set screw out. Most times you can unscrew them before adding heat.

Sometimes they get soldered in place with the base and you have to heat them up to unscrew them.

 

The K 98 would be your best choice to change caliber on and the Yugo's would be the best to keep

in 8mm; because of the safety breech issue.

 

The Yugo's can be made into other calibers but length

of the cartridge becomes more of an issue. Some will say that you can do '06' (63mm) cartridges just fine on

a Yugo others will say that 57mm cases are the limit.

 

My personal opinion is that if you have several Mausers at least one should be an 8mm.

So what might your 'wish list' be for the other 2?

 

Tinker

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If you're lucky and have good barrels, the stock 8 x 57 cartridge when handloaded is EXCELLENT and difficult to improve on for most of the applications that we have for sporterized Mausers. Just set the barrel back a thread and ream for minimun headspace and you'll likely have a VERY accurate AND CHEAP rifle. If you want to kill mid-sized mammals, there really is nothing better. Those dammed Germans knew what they were doing.

 

There are also some varmint bullets for the 8 mm, but if you insist on a 22/250, 6mm Rem, 257 Rob, 6 x 55, 7 x 57 ... all the way through the 400 Whelen, there's nothing stopping you (and if you get really bit like most of us have you might wish there were).

 

Sometimes I'm glad that my K31 and Moisins would be really hard to mod. The 7.5 x 55 and 7.62 x 54 are also EXCELLENT cartridges that deserve more credit. Why try to modify them?

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I have the AGI Mauser tapes,6 volume I think,that are very good and easy to follow.They go from Mauser military action to a finished sporter.I still have a VCR,but need to see if I can switch them over to DVD.A very good book is "How to Build Your Custom Rifle by Walsh.The best source for info is here though.These cats will walk you through every step and enjoy helping someone out more than working on guns.Jerry

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I may have one or two pdf files I could mail you if you send me your email address.

Look in the archives on this board. There's more information than you can use.

 

 

any info you guys have would be great.

 

white(*)255@hotmail.com

 

remove the (*)

 

I have a k98k barreled action on the way and I have $250 worth of parts on order from Brownells too. Should I buy a bolt jig and a scope tap jig as well? Also, what type of bolt handle should I get?

 

RD

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Some people hate this guy and some like me love him. check out some of his tutorials and decide for yourself.

Steve Wagner's sitehttp://www.gswagner.com/

Have Fun,

Roy

Steve kinda comes on as a little cocky, but he seems to know his stuff. I haven't tried his tutorials on sporterizing or gunsmithing, but I resource him on ammo loads and brass specs all the time.

 

Just ignore his life history which seems a bit braggy and go straight to what you need. It will be okay.

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I got the rear sight off last night with a propane torch and a mallet. But, I am having a problem getting the screw out of the front sight post. Should I drill it or heat it and tap it with a hammer and then drill if needed? Also, if I decide to keep the original barrel (is bright and shiny) how do I fill the holes that the screws left in the barrel? And, is there a guide anyone knows of that I can use to turn the barrel down to a F34 contour?

 

Rob

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I am having a problem getting the screw out of the front sight post. Should I drill it or heat it and tap it with a hammer and then drill if needed?

 

Rob

 

You may have to turn the screw out while heating it with the torch.

I've had to do that a time or two.

The solder gets into the screw threads.

 

Tinker

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My father in law and I made up a couple tools this past weekend. I used the descriptions and dimensions from the Brownells catalog. A barrel vise and a receiver wrench. Pretty simple stuff.

 

I will post some pics later.

 

The receiver wrench is just a couple of 3/4" x 3" cold rolled stock with 1.5" holes in it. I then cut the holes near the end so it would slip on the receiver. drilled 3/8" holes in the edges and tapped them I then welded the two 3/4" pieces together for added strength. I put a 3/8"x3x3 peice on top with a handle welded on and bolted the top to the bottom.

 

The barrel vise is 3"x6"x6" cold rolled. Drilled a 1.5" hole in the middle. Split the stock down the middle of the hole. drilled and tapped holes on the outside to hold it together. I made a 1.5" o.d. peice of aluminum for the shim with a 1" hole in the middle. I then cut a gap 1/16" on one side to crush fit.

 

Tested it yesterday on a k98k. put a 4 foot cheater bar on the wrench and the barrel broke free. no marring or galling.

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